15 years ago today, I launched Solo Traveler. I can remember the first time 10 people visited the site in one day, and my mother wasn't one of them. Now we have thousands of people visiting daily and a dedicated readership of 63,000 on our mailing list. (If you're not already receiving our newsletters, you can sign up here.)
When I started, Google provided the search terms people used to find our site. “Is it weird to travel alone?” was one of those terms. My response came in month four with a short ebook called, “Glad You're Not Here. A Solo Traveler's Manifesto“. Yes, you can still download it. Of course, I later wrote The Solo Traveler's Handbook.
At about the same time, Tracey contributed her first post to Solo Traveler. It wasn't long after that she started contributing regularly and then became our editor, leveling up the quality of research and content of our posts.
Next, Simon joined us and turned his attention to the challenge of the single supplement. He developed and nurtured relationships with travel companies around the world, encouraging them to offer great deals to our readers. The result is a rich resource of tours and cruises with low (20% max) or no single supplements. You can see the tour offerings for solo travelers by company here and, thanks to an update two years ago, you can search all the trips based on your interests here.
We have continued to foster a vibrant community on Facebook, the Solo Travel Society, which now boasts more than 275,000 travelers from across the world. Tracey moderates this group, interacting with members 365 days a year, posing questions, sharing information and encouragement.
All of what we do is in service of our mission at Solo Traveler, which is to deliver information, inspiration, and advocacy for and on behalf of those who love to travel alone.
You are the reason we do what we do, and we couldn’t do it without your participation in the Solo Traveler community: contributing destination posts, reading our articles and newsletters, interacting on the Solo Travel Society Facebook page, and following us on Instagram.
Tracey put together a slideshow of some members of the Solo Traveler community. Have a look and see your fellow travelers exploring the world on their own terms.
Thank you for 15 great years. Happy Anniversary to all of us in the Solo Traveler Community! We wish you lots more exciting solo travel to come!
